Harry Potter and the wizard's war
by scimmia2
Summary: Harry starts his sixth year at Hogwarts and it starts rather badly. He still has Sirius's death on his conscience and Death Eaters' attacks are multiplying. The wizarding world is a the dawn of the Wizards' War.
1. News from the Prophet

Harry Potter and the wizard's war

**Author's note**: or authors' note actually, because we're two writing this fic. So if you notice some differences in the writing style from one chapter to another it's normal but normally, it should be sensibly the same thing. This fic is already invented in the slightest detail (or almost), we know exactly where this story's going so don't worry we're not going to give up halfway through it. There will be a total of 27 chapters which are gonna be relatively long. If all's going on well, we should post a new chapter weekly, or faster if we have nothing to do.

**Disclaimer**: All the characters (but several exceptions and a lot of invented names), the places (except some names again), etc. are the property of JK Rowling. Apart from that, the storyline is our own concept but the Harry Potter universe is obviously totally based on the books.

**Summary**: Harry enters his sixth year at Hogwarts. And it starts rather badly. He still has Sirius's death on his conscience, the Death Eaters attacks are multiplying… But most of all, Harry must prepare for the final duel with Voldemort. The 2nd war has now well begun.

**Pairings**: Ron/Hermione Harry/Luna Neville/Ginny NO SLASH!!!!!!!!!

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Chapter 1: News from the Prophet

**_The 2nd war has now well begun_**

_We are sorry to report a new attack which happened yesterday late in the evening. Following the murder of the four Larnack three days ago, we were this time victims of a massive attack on the village of Harwright, located approximately 180 km north of London._

"_We were coming back from our friends' place, my wife and I, when we heard a big noise coming right form the mountains, confided M. Baker, still perturbed. I turned around and then I saw them coming out of the mountains."_

_About a dozen giants totally ravaged the village. According to the Ministry of Magic, the number of victims is evaluated to 250, including a dozen wizards and over 500 wounded. However, the exact number has not yet been revealed. The survivors took refuge in nearby villages where Ministry members took matters into their own hands, although their slowness to react allowed the giants to pass without damage to go, there is no doubt, join the henceforth numerous followers of You-Know-Who. They still managed to modify the memory of all the muggles present on the scene and took the wounded in charge._

_The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, didn't make any comment. He only said: "We sincerely regret this attack. Be assured that from now on we shall take energic measures to prevent this from happening again." However, since the announcement a week ago of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's return, the Ministry took almost no initiative to increase the security of the Wizards community, who is currently in a state of panic. It is by the way facing numerous criticisms about its way to manage this critic period. "It's entirely Fudge's fault if we're in this situation, says M. Hawning, from the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. He should have listened to Dumbledore. He has been warned of You-Know-Who's return more than a year ago and he did nothing. Worst, he deliberately tried to hide the facts by manipulating everybody. If he had reacted in time, he would have had a chance to rally the giants, but now it's too late." _

"_Fudge pretends he's going to take measures to counter You-Know-Who's followers, but you all know that's a total lie! He prefers to calmly sit in his office on his big butt drinking his tea, adds Mrs. Routt, head of the department of magical transportation."_

_What the wizards and witches are fearing most, is that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named may succeed in gathering an army strong enough to take over the Ministry and reach the power. It has been declared last week that the dementors officially left Azkaban prison to join the ranks of the Dark Lord. We also know that his followers include more than thirty Death Eaters as well as numerous other wizards, witches and other creatures, and now the giants. It is more than time we start preparing ourselves for this war._

Harry closed the Prophet with a deep sight. Then, he threw it casually aside and flew himself down on his bed. That wasn't the first bad news he had received since the beginning of the summer et that would certainly not be the last ones. Voldemort had been more active in the last week than he had been in all the previous year.

250 victims…It had been a long time since the Wizarding World had known such a big catastrophe. It was the second time in hardly a week that a Voldemort attack was reported. With this rhythm, thousands of people would die until the end of the summer. Something had to be done. Someone had to put an end to this massacre.

No, it wasn't someone. It was him. Sooner or later, he would have to face Voldemort. And then, there would be two possibilities: he would kill Voldemort or he would be killed. In some way, the sooner the better. It would avoid him from worrying about this longer than was necessary.

Anyway, he was well aware that he stood absolutely no chance. How was he supposed to be able to confront the most powerful dark wizard who ever existed? How was he supposed to save the whole wizarding world when hadn't been able to protect Sirius? Worse! He'd led him straight ahead to death!

He was trying to persuade himself that he wasn't the only one responsible, but how could he believe that? Nothing would have happened without him. If only he'd practiced Occlumency like he was supposed to! If only he'd thought about using the mirror Sirius gave him instead of trusting Kreacher! If only he hadn't been such an idiot!

There were so many things he could have done to prevent Sirius's death. So many things he hadn't done…It was entirely his fault, he couldn't deny it.

Harry allowed himself in dark thoughts. As time passed, he felt more and more guilty. Then, exhausted, he ended up falling asleep, but continuing to think of Sirius and all the mistakes he had done and which had lead to his godfather's death.

Since the beginning of the holidays, he was continually reliving the scene in the Department of mysteries in his sleep. The context changed from time to time, but the dreams always ended up in Sirius's death.

The next day Harry woke up very late. It was almost noon, but he didn't feel rested at all. It took him a certain time to realize he was hungry. He had not eaten anything the previous day. However, it was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so Harry decided to get a look in the fridge to find something to eat.

He went down the stairs hoping nobody would notice his presence. Unfortunately, Dudley was standing right at the bottom of the steps.

-So, you finally decided to get out of your room, he said. We thought you were dead… Not that it would've been a bad thing really, but…

- Dudley, leave me alone! It's true that if I died you would benefit of all my meals. Maybe you'd even end up dying yourself. In the end, you'd be so huge you wouldn't even be able to raise your head to watch the TV…

-You think you have the right to insult me like this? Mom says you're lucky they're keeping you in the house. Last year, they almost threw you out. They could still do it…

-And you, you think _Mom _doesn't know she has no choice but to keep me here… I'll stay whether you want it or not and you've got a problem with that, then…

-Then what? Your _godfather_'s gonna come and change me into a mouse?

This time, it was too much. Harry couldn't support to hear Dudley talk about Sirius, even if he couldn't imagine half the effect his words had had upon Harry.

-I don't want to hear you talk about him or it's me who's gonna change you into a mouse, Harry warned him.

-You know very well that you're not allowed to do ma…ma…

-_Magic_?

-You'd be expelled from your…school.

-Yeah, maybe, but then it'd be too late for you, wouldn't it? I don't reckon you want to try…

Harry ignored Dudley's response and made his way towards the kitchen, tired of this conversation which wasn't leading anywhere. No matter what Harry said, he didn't want at all to be expelled from Hogwarts and he knew very well that Dudley would never dare play too much with his nerves.

However, he gave up the idea of getting something to eat, due to his uncle who was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper. He thus preferred to go back to his room and forget his hunger, at least until lunch.

He didn't stay there for long, however. After about fifteen minutes, his uncle's voice yelling his name interrupted the thread of his thoughts. One more time, he had been thinking about Sirius, the prophecy, Voldemort and all the things that made his life so complicated.

Harry did not want at all to go down and face his uncle's anger. He didn't even know what he could have done wrong. So, he pretended to not hear the shouts resonating through the whole house and remained lied down on his bed.

But Uncle Vernon wasn't giving up so Harry finally resigned himself to go down to see what he wanted him.

When Harry entered the living room, he noticed that his uncle's face was all red and that his forehead was streaming with sweat. When he was in that state, it was a sign that he was in a really bad mood.

-_So_, he said in a very threatening tone. I heard that you dared _threaten_ Dudley.

-So Dudley's not able to defend himself alone? He still needs his dad to help him?

-Don't talk to me on that tone! You know you could pay it dearly if you dare make the slightest harm to Dudley.

-What exactly could you do to me? You remember what M. Moody told you last week… If ever they learn I'm mistreated…

Uncle Vernon seemed to think for a moment about the best answer to this. It was true that he couldn't allow himself to make the slightest harm to Harry or to prevent him from writing to the others.

-You wouldn't be mistreated, he said finally. Only, there's nothing forcing us to keep you here. If you don't watch yourself, we could very well decide that you can't live in our house anymore.

-That's strange. I think that's not exactly what Dumbledore'd say, isn't it Aunt Petunia? I think in fact, you haven't got the choice.

- I forbid you to pronounce the name of this…this…whatever. I forbid you to pronounce this name in our house!

-This what? This _wizard?_ Anyway, if you throw me out of your house, that'd probably be the best thing that's happened to me in the last fifteen years!

Harry knew it wasn't true. He knew he had to continue going to the Dursleys at least once a year for his own safety, but his anger had taken over on his reason. He went out slamming the entrance door and went towards the playground, near Magnolia Road.

However, he didn't go far. He had barely turned the corner of the street that he was intercepted by Mrs.Figg, who was walking the other way 'round.

-Harry! She said. I'm so happy to see you!

-Hi Mrs.Figg, he said, not knowing what to answer. How're you?

-Very well, thanks. By the way, I've learned about…what happened. I'm sorry. Are you okay?

-Yeah, I'm okay, said Harry automatically. I'm going to be okay.

He knew this was false, but he preferred to not let the others know. He hated talking about Sirius's death and was doing everything to avoid the subject.

-If ever you need anything, you can come and see me, you know.

-Thank you. It's nice to offer it, but I really don't need anything. Everything's fine.

-You sure? Well, in that case, don't forget I'll always be happy to have tea with you one of these days. Come and see me whenever you get the time.

-Yeah, right, answered Harry, wishing the conversation to end as soon as possible. I'll think about it. Bye, Mrs.Figg.

Harry continued on his way to the playground. When he arrived, he settled himself on one of the benches, the farthest form the street. Not that it changed anything. There wasn't anybody apart from himself.

This place had been neglected since quite a while. The children weren't coming anymore, without doubt because of the pathetic state of it. The only person who was happy about that was Harry. This was letting him a place to be alone, in peace.

Suddenly, he wondered why he had wanted to make Mrs.Figg believe everything was for the best. Certainly if he had tried to appear happy, and acted like everything was fine, it was because he was judging it the best solution. This prevented him form being asked questions which he did not want to answer at all.

He was absorbed by his thoughts again and forgot about the time passing. When he realized he must have sat there for several hours, because the sun was starting to fall in the sky, he decided go back.

However, when he turned Privet Drive's corner, he noticed some abnormal activity around the Dursley's house. Normally, the neighbourhood was so quiet that it was quite rare to see even a new dog in the area, but now, there was a real crowd piling up right in front of his aunt and uncle's door.

Harry approached cautiously, hoping very hard he wouldn't be noticed until he knew who all those people were. That's when he realized that almost every one was wearing muggle clothing, but in a very clumsy way, like all those wizards at the Quidditch World Cup.

But what the hell were about twenty wizards doing in front of his house? Watching more closely, he saw that many of them had a notebook in their hand and what looked a lot like a Quick-Quotes quill. So the Prophet had followed him to Little Whinging…

But why? Were they hoping for an interview about his thoughts on Voldemort's recent activities? Or did they just want to spy on his private life to find something to write another moving article on his sad life and the horrible he was treated by the Dursley's when he was there?

In each case, Harry did not want at all to be the object of a Prophet report. So, he discreetly tried to pass by his neighbour's backyard in order to reach the back door of the house and go up in his room unnoticed.

Unfortunately, he didn't have that chance. One of the reporters saw him running across the backyard before he could reach the door. Harry was soon surrounded.

-Mr Potter! One of the journalists shouted. How do you feel about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's return?

Harry had to make a considerable effort not to turn around and leave in the opposite direction. Instead of that, he chose to be polite.

-Hum… Just as everybody else… I wonder what's gonna happen next…

He had absolutely no desire to rack his brains trying to find an intelligent answer.

-What's your reaction about You-Know-Who's recent attacks?

That time, Harry had a hard time trying to stay calm.

-How should I react? I'm… shocked. As everyone is.

-And you, what would you do to stop You-Know-Who?

-Listen, I really don't want to answer your questions right now…

-What do you think of all the things people said about you last year?

-I don't know, but for the moment, I only think of coming back into the house so if you'd just let me go…

-What would you do if you were one of those persons who lost a loved one in the attack of Harwright?

Harry had had enough. These days, almost everything was likely to remind him of Sirius. He made his way through the journalists and entered the house, making sure to lock the door behind him.

The Daily Prophet… That was the last thing he needed! He only hoped he had not given them enough information to write their article. _Don't count on it,_ Harry told himself. He knew perfectly well that refusing to answer could turn out to be even worse than telling them anything. They'd probably write that he was really perturbed and traumatized by Voldemort's return and that he didn't want to talk to anyone in order to hide his fear, or something like that. Anyway, since the time he had gotten used to ignore what the Prophet said about him. It was better that way.

Harry laid down on his bed and, even though the day had not really been long, he fell asleep, exhausted, without taking the time to get changed.

_He was back in the department of mysteries, once again, during the fight between the Death Eaters and the wizards from the Order of the Phoenix. Everything was identical, in the slightest details, except for a little thing. This time, Harry wasn't participating to the action. He stood in the center of the room, not moving, but no one seemed to notice him._

_In fact (it took him a certain time to figure that out), nobody was moving. They were like frozen there, still in action poses. And they were blurred. The more Harry tried to see them, the more they faded, the more they blended into the background. Everything was quiet._

_Two persons stood in the middle of the room, near Harry. There was a woman, which Harry had seen too many times: Bellatrix Lestrange. And the other person was… Sirius. Suddenly, they both came to life and they started to fight again. _Again, _because Harry was certain that the fighting had begun before his arrival._

_They were both casting all kinds of spells, which never reached the other. Harry was moving back more and more, without managing to take his eyes off the fighting that was taking place right in front of him. Suddenly, he hit something hard. He turned around and realized that it was, in fact, the old arcade, still there, in the center of the room._

_Then, a flash more powerful than the others came out from one of the wands. Everything became like if it were in slow motion. Harry saw that Sirius had received the spell right in the chest. He lost his balance and started to fall… right on Harry. He leaped aside without thinking and his godfather fell right through the veil._

_When he realized what had just happened, he rushed towards the arcade._

_-Sirius! He heard himself yelling._

_He knew it wasn't over. He could go and get him, save him, bring him back. He wanted to go, but something seemed to pull him backwards. He couldn't see who or what it was. All of a sudden, he heard some yells resonating on the walls, as if someone was shouting after him, but the echo made them indecipherable._

_He was still struggling against the mysterious thing that was holding him back. He had to get to Sirius, save him. But that thing was holding him tightly. And that ear-splitting voice was still screaming, blurring his thoughts._

Harry woke up. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was the morning. He had probably slept more than a dozen hours. He blinked several times, still not fully awake. Suddenly, he realized that the voice he had been hearing in his dream was still resounding through the house. It was his uncle's voice. He was apparently really angry.

Harry got up quickly and hurried downstairs. His uncle was standing at the bottom of the steps. His skin had taken a purplish colour and his face looked swollen with rage.

-What are they doing here? Uncle Vernon shouted. What are people of your kind doing in front of my house? How do you think the neighbours are going to react?

-What? Harry said, though he had perfectly understood the situation.

Apparently, the journalists didn't intend to give up so easily.

-You know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm sure it was you who told them to come here. They brought up tents and spent the night here! On MY grass!

Tents? Harry looked through the window to see what was happening outside. There were about a dozen tents in front of the house. The journalists were crowded everywhere around the house. He was surrounded.

Harry wondered why they were having so much trouble for a single interview. They must have a lot of other things to write on, so why didn't they leave him alone? Why didn't they go ruin someone else's life instead of camping in Privet Drive?

Besides, the Prophet had been talking about him for all the previous year. People must have had enough. Most people knew him more than he did himself, so why were they still talking about him in the newspapers?

Then, he realized that what the journalists were doing must be illegal. Not only they allowed themselves to get into his private life, but they were about twenty wizards camping in a muggle road. Now, wizards weren't supposed to draw the muggle's attention to themselves. Maybe he could lodge a complaint against them?

Suddenly, Harry realized that he was still near the window, perfectly visible. He moved away quickly but it was too late: the reporters had seen him and were now hammering on the window to make him go out.

-Who are these people? Asked aunt Petunia, panicked. What do they want?

-How dare you bring that kind of people at our place? His uncle bellowed. Who allowed you to…

-As if I _asked _them to come, Harry said in an exasperated tone. I have absolutely no desire to talk to them and I'm not happier to see them here than you are!

-So, make them leave before the neighbours wake up and see what's happening here.

-That's exactly what I intend to do.

He opened the door and went outside. Within ten seconds, they were all around him. They were once again bombarding him with questions. They were speaking so fast that Harry didn't understand a single word. Anyway, he didn't really want to know what they were saying.

-That's enough! Harry shouted to make sure he was heard by everybody. I have absolutely no intention to answer any of your questions, no matter how long you're gonna stay in front of this house. So you'd better go back to the place you came from and find an other article to write 'cause you won't have anything about me! Is that clear enough?

-OK, OK. We weren't trying to upset you. But the Wizarding World wants to know…

- They already know enough, Harry spat. So clear up. And I'm better not see any of you here again.

The journalists glanced furtively around them to make sure that nobody was watching. Then, they all took out their wands vanished the tents. Finally, they all disaparated in a few seconds.

Harry was a bit taken aback that they had accepted to leave so easily. Maybe he had managed to frighten them enough so that they wouldn't come back.

Being in a very bad mood, he decided to go back up in his room in order to avoid seeing his aunt and uncle, who were still blaming him for the incident and saying that it was him who had asked all these journalists to come so that it would make the neighbours talk.

He sat down on his bed and sighed, trying to calm down. But he didn't have the time to do so. Soon, he heard yells coming from the first floor again. This time, however, it was Aunt Petunia's voice. Harry went back downstairs to see what was happening. He understood what was the cause of this noise the second he reached the floor.

A man was hiding under a coffee table, a piece a parchment and a quill in his hand. So, the journalists had not left the house after all. They just preferred to hide and spy on him.

Harry was about to throw the man out, but this time, his uncle was the first to react.

- OUT! He roared. OUT! That's enough! I don't want to see any more of your kind in this house or I swear you're gonna have to deal with me and I tell you you'll regret it for a very long time!

But as he was saying this, three more journalists had gone out from the bathroom where they'd been hiding, attracted by the noise.

Harry totally lost his temper. He took out his wand and pointed it straight to the head of the one nearest him, though he knew he wasn't going to use it. The technique was efficient however. The journalist backed off against the wall, with a terrified look on his face.

-I give you three seconds to go off, Harry said on a threatening tone. One…two…

In less than one second, all the journalists disaparated. He heard _pops_ coming from almost everywhere in the house.

Still furious, he turned back towards his aunt, uncle and cousin, who were all standing at the other side of the living room. Uncle Vernon too was fulminating.

-I've had enough! He said. I'm calling Marge straight away. We're going to her place for the rest of the summer. I'm sure she'll understand. She knows _he's_ always causing trouble, he said pointing his head towards Harry. We're leaving as soon as possible. Tomorrow if we can. They'll never find us there!

Harry was fuming even more now. So he was causing trouble! Like it were his fault if the Prophet was refusing to leave him alone! And to top it all, he was going to spend the rest of the summer with Aunt Marge! He would have to suffer all her mockeries and comments for about two months…it was the worst thing that could still happen to him. Unless… He could think of only one other solution.

He could send a message to his friends. Maybe he could go to Grimmauld Place. He really didn't want to go back there, but it was still better than Aunt Marge's place. Or maybe he could go and spend the rest of the summer at the Burrow…

He went upstairs to his bedroom and wrote a short letter for Ron and another for Hermione, trying not to sound as if he needed to be rescued. Then he tied the two letters to Hedwig's leg and she flew away instantly to bring them to their addressees.

After that, Harry remained in his room for most of the day. He couldn't stop throwing furtive glances outside the window in the hope of seeing Hedwig coming back with his friend's responses.

"I hope she'll be back before tomorrow, he thought"

By the end of the day, the owl still wasn't back. Harry finally fell asleep imagining all he would have to suffer if he had to go to Aunt Marge's for the rest of the summer.

The next day, he was woken up by Hedwig who was nibbling his finger in order to force him to get up. It was still quite early and it took some time to Harry before he was totally awoken. One more time, he'd had a bad night because of his nightmares, which weren't stopping.

He finally opened his eyes and noticed his owl's presence, a letter tied to her leg.

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Okay, so that's it for the first chapter. It took a crazy amount of time to write so I hope it's worth it. Don't forget to send us your reviews to share your comments. Especially after the first chapter, it's important to know what people think. Anyways, the next chapter's coming soon enough…. 


	2. The muggle life

So here's the next chapter. But firstly I must warn you that the chapters probably aren't going to have all the same length, though we're trying to go them long enough. But the content of each chapter is already planned and it's possible the some are going to be shorter than others. Anyway, if you have comments, you can send us reviews, we'll be happy to read them. Ok, so now I stop babbling, and I leave you on this second chapter, which, by the way, is going to be a little happier than the first.

Oh yeah…I was forgetting… all the characters belong to JK Rowling except several nobodies.

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**Chapter 2: The muggle life **

Harry hurried to open his letter. Since the beginning of the summer, he had often neglected answering the numerous letters from his friends, so that eventually they must have concluded that he didn't want to talk to them. And it was partially true. In their first letters, Ron and Hermione wouldn't stop asking him how he was and bombarding him of questions and he wasn't in a mood to answer them by letters as long as the ones he received. Instead, he would simply write a few words or more likely he would put it back until later and he would forget about it.

However, he was refusing to admit that since the letters had started to become more occasional, he would have liked to have someone to talk to in order to distract himself from his dark thoughts. But when he learned that he was supposed to go spend the rest of the summer at his Aunt Marge's place, he couldn't restrain himself from sending a call for help. It was the first time this summer that he took the initiative of sending news (apart from a short note to Moody every three days to assure him that everything was fine) and also the first time he wanted to know what was in the envelope he received.

He was happy to recognize Hermione's neat handwriting.

_Hey Harry,_

_How're you? I was really happy to receive your message yesterday. I was starting to think that you would never answer me and I've been worrying a lot about you. Anyways, I spoke with some Order members and it's out of matter that you go to your "aunt's" place. But it seems that in the moment everybody's extremely busy and there's nobody staying at Grimmauld Place. And besides, I suppose you don't really want to go there right now…_

"That's a fact…" Harry thought before going back to his reading.

Thus I asked if it was possible for you to go to the Burrow, but they told me that it wasn't a safe place since it's a wizard house and it's quite unprotected actually. And anyways M. Mrs. Weasley are very busy working for the Order and they're not home very often. So I asked Dumbledore if you could come over to my place instead and he accepted. He says it's probably the best place for the moment. I invited Ron too (Ginny went to a friend's for all next week and so he's left alone at the Burrow). If it's ok, you just have to answer me as quickly as possible and my parents will come and get you by car tomorrow afternoon. I thought maybe then we could go for a tour in Diagon Alley. It's been an eternity since we last went there. Okay, so I think I'll let you time to answer.

Hope to see ya tomorrow,

Hermione

Harry was still unsure whether he wanted to see his friends or not after the catastrophic events that had marked the end of the year, but he certainly did not want to go listen to Aunt Marge's comments about him. So he easily convinced himself that a bit of company could only be good for him. Now he just had to convince his aunt and uncle too.

He found them sitting at the kitchen table. His uncle was reading the newspaper as usual and his aunt was busy preparing a plate for Dudley. He didn't have to start the conversation. As soon as he entered the room, his uncle raised his head and looked at him with a contemptuous glance.

-Hope you're done with packing…he said. I'm better not have to wait for you. Especially since it's thanks to you we have to leave.

So it was his fault? Really? Like if it were him who had asked the journalists to camp outside the house! Harry took several large breaths in order to stay calm.

- Well, no. Actually, I haven't done any packing….he answered

Uncle Vernon's face became purple. He seemed about to say something but Harry interrupted.

- For the good reason that I'm not coming with you…

-WHAT? Yelled Uncle Vernon. If you think we're gonna leave you here alone for three weeks! Plans for coming back to find the house in ruins!

-I never said I was staying here, said Harry on an exasperated tone. I'm going to my friend's place. They're coming to pick me up tomorrow.

-Your friend? Coming to pick you up? Not the freaks who destroyed our living room two years ago?

- No, that's not them. My friend's parents are Muggles and anyways she told me they were coming by car.

-SO, if I understand, you expect us to leave you here and tomorrow you'll be gone for the rest of the summer?

- You got it, said Harry. So everyone's gonna be happy.

His uncle frowned. He seemed to be evaluating the situation. He would have no choice but to realise he had no motive for refusing and anyways the temptation of getting rid of Harry was far too big.

- Very well, he said finally. But you're not letting them touch anything in the house. Actually, you're not touching anything that belongs to us either.

Harry left without another word. Back in his room, he drafted a short message telling Hermione that everything was ok. He was really grateful to her for inviting him like this at the last minute, consequently he could have made an effort and written her a real letter, but he told himself he was going to talk with her tomorrow and anyway he had nothing more to say.

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Harry spent the rest of the morning in his room. He began by packing his stuff, which he had scattered everywhere since his arrival. He realized it was doing him some good to do this cleaning. He hadn't mattered until now, mainly because he just couldn't see the point. After all, the mess in his bedroom was nothing compared to the one in his head. However, he was forced to conclude that there's no better way of clearing your mind than to put some order in your stuff. So when he was done with packing, Harry decided to tidy up Hedwig's cage, which, he must admit, really needed it. Finally, he began a complete clean up of the room. The result was quite positive, for the bedroom as well as for Harry himself. Whereas the room was now shining, doing something constructive had allowed Harry to forget about his preoccupations a bit. So, when he went down for lunch, he was in a best mood than he'd been in the previous weeks.

Then he came back to his room and lay down on his bed again. But instead of just staying there doing nothing as usual, he took out his favourite Quidditch book, _Flying with the Cannons_, from his trunk and began turning the pages for a hundredth time.

Around three in the afternoon, he heard the Dursley's car leaving the garage, and he concluded that they must be on their way to Aunt Marge's. He was alone until the next day.

That evening, in spite of his uncle's ban, Harry searched the fridge looking for something to make himself a good dinner, and he took advantage of the situation to eat more than usual (habitually, he preferred to avoid spending too much time in the same room as his aunt, uncle and cousin). Then, he went directly up to bed and fell asleep as soon as his head reached his pillow. For the first time in months, he had a dreamless night.

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The next day, he awoke quite late, around 10:30 in the morning. For a few seconds, in wondered why he wasn't hearing any sound at this time, but then he remembered that the Dursley's had left the day before. Harry had nothing to do apart from waiting for Hermione's arrival. He remained lying down for another hour, but when he began to think about Sirius and the prophecy again, he chose to get up and go take a walk. This was relatively efficient and it allowed him to prepare himself mentally to be in contact with other people again.

He came back just in time to have a quick lunch. He wasn't even done with the dishes when he saw a car stopping in front of the house. Moments later, there were several knocks on the door. When he opened, he saw Hermione, wearing Muggle clothing, standing behind it.

-Harry! She exclaimed.

Then, with a big smile on her lips, she threw herself in his arms.

-I'm so happy to see you!

Harry returned her smile. It was the first time he smiled since he had arrived here.

- My parents are waiting in the car. Your trunk ready?

-Yeah, it's all upstairs. Wait, I'll go get it.

-No, I'll come and help you, said Hermione before following him up the steps.

Less than a minute later, they were going back downstairs carrying the trunk, Hedwig's cage (the owl had already left) and Harry broom, a superb Firebolt.

- We're going directly to Diagon Alley, as I told you in my letter. You don't mind, do you?

-Not at all. But, hey, Ron's not supposed to be here? Harry asked.

-Oh…no, he said he would meet us there.

When they went outside, Hermione's parents came out to help them to pack everything in the car. Harry noticed that both had numerous common traits with Hermione. She did the presentations (it looked like she had already told her parents everything about Harry because their eyes lingered on his scar.) It annoyed Harry a bit, but he didn't show it. Then, everybody went aboard, Harry and Hermione at the back, and they left. During the trip to London, they talked about this and that. Harry was relieved that Hermione's parents were sitting at the front, because it delayed the moment when Hermione would ask him all the questions to which he hadn't answered in his letters.

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Hermione's parents left them outside the leaky cauldron, saying they had some shopping to do in the muggle part of London et and that they would come back to pick them up later in the afternoon. Harry and Hermione went in the pub. The place was a lot less crowded than usual. After the recent attacks, people probably preferred to stay home…

-Where are we supposed to meet with Ron? Harry asked.

- Flourish and Blotts…

- What, you're already buying your books when we haven't even received our book lists for next year?

- That's Ron's line, said Hermione with a smile.

-Yeah, well, when he's not there, somebody's got to replace him.

- As if we needed to hear Ron's idiocies all day long!

Hermione had said this on an exasperated tone, but it was followed by a small laugh, which implied that she was far from meaning what she had just said. When she noticed Harry watching her with a smile, however, her face took an embarrassed look and she checked her watch.

- We're early, she said. I think we should go to Gringotts first. I've got to trade the money my parents just gave me.

They did this and twenty minutes later they were waiting outside the bookstore, but with their pockets full of money. At last Ron arrived (half an hour late), carrying a small packsack.

-Sorry, he said. I started packing my stuff a bit late.

Hermione sighed.

- Err…can you tell me how you managed to put all your stuff in there, Harry asked, watching Ron's tiny packsack and thinking about his own trunk which left almost no space in Hermione's car.

-Oh…it's easy, Ron answered. Look.

He opened his bag and Harry saw that it contained at least ten times more stuff than it seemed. He thought he should have expected something like this.

- So, you ok, mate? Ron asked. I assumed Pig had lost my letters on the way…

-Sorry. Too many things to do…Harry lied, avoiding Ron's eyes.

-Oh…right. So where do we go?

Hermione insisted on entering the bookstore. Harry and Ron glanced at each other before following her. Whereas she was searching the shelves looking for the longest and most boring book, they talked about the classes they were intending to take for next year. Harry hadn't really thought about it and, now, he realized he was in a dilemma. Giving up his ambition of becoming an Auror, as well as Potions, or facing Snipe for two more years. Although anyway, as Ron pointed out, Snape required Outstanding OWL marks, which neither of them had the slightest chance to achieve. He decided to seriously reconsider his career choice. Did it really matter, after all? He wasn't even sure to live until then…He didn't say anything about it to Ron however and jumped on the chance to talk against Snape, though almost everything had already been said.

Then, Ron suggested to go have a look at Fred and George's joke shop. Harry and Hermione were very enthusiastic about this idea. Fred and George had made a memorable departure from Hogwarts the previous year, just before they opened their shop, and neither of them had seen the twins since.

-You'll see! All the things they've invented, it's crazy…Compared to that, Zonko looks like nothing! Ron told them on the way.

He had already visited the place several times. And he was right. When he entered the place, Harry couldn't help noticing that Fred and George had invented a lot more stuff than he'd thought. The wall was filled up to the ceiling. Harry glanced at a poster underneath which was a row of multi-coloured masks. Some obviously represented common animals like cats or owls, but there was also a bunch of magical creatures some of which were completely unknown to Harry. He read the poster: _transfiguration masks._ _Single use…8 gallions each._

-Want to try one of these? Asked someone behind Harry. I suggest the poodle right there, we're really proud of that one. And you can have a special discount if you want.

It was Fred Weasley, Ron's older brother. His twin, George, was there too, greeting Ron and Hermione.

- Hello Harry, he said, turning towards him. So, what's your impression of the shop?

-Wow! You've worked quite a bit in two months!

- Well…you know, we can't really refer to it as work…we're having a real laugh inventing all these! Said Fred

- So, business going all right? Asked Hermione. I guess it is.

- Couldn't be better! We're swimming in the gold….I never thought I was going to say that one day.

-Except, since the attack, there's been a bit less customers, said George.

- A lot less customers…said Fred. Usually, there's always a line at the counter. But we're not complaining. It gives us some time to work out our new products.

- You're making it all here? Harry asked, interested.

- Yeah, we've got our workshop at the back. Want to see? Fred suggested.

They spent the rest of the afternoon trying all kinds of joke stuff. It had been a long time since Harry had so much fun. At last, they bought as much stuff as all the customers who'd have come hadn't it been for the attack would have, said good-bye to the twins, and went back towards the leaky cauldron, where they were supposed to meet with Hermione's parents. Hermione still had her hair raised in peaks on her head. When she had assured her parents that it was only a temporary effect, they all went into the car and left.

The trip did not last more than twenty minutes. Soon, they were coming to a halt in front of a beautiful two-floors house, in suburb area, which, Harry noticed, was a lot more welcoming than Little Whinging, where all the houses were almost the same.

They grabbed their luggage and went in the house. The entrance hall was not particularly big, but on the other hand the room was very well decorated and full of objects that reminded them that they were in a muggle house. The walls were painted in orange, but it was hard to notice since it was all covered with pictures of Hermione and her family. Ron opened his eyes wide and looked around him, looking impressed. Since he was living in a wizard family, Harry first assumed that he was fascinated by the telephone on the wall or the household appliances that could be seen in a closet which door was opened. However, Ron's eyes were now fixed upon a photograph that represented Hermione in front of the house. She was apparently 4 or 5 years old. She was wearing a pink dress with flowers on it and was carrying a doll in her arms.

Whereas Ron remained there, watching closely the small Hermione on the photograph, Harry turned towards the real one, smiling. Hermione was smiling too, but her face was very red and she had an embarrassed look.

-Hum…if you want, you can take all your stuff upstairs in your room instead of standing here, she suggested.

Ron came back to reality.

-Oh…hum…yeah, ok, he said. Huh…and where are we sleeping actually?

- In the guest room. Follow me, I'll show you.

They grabbed their stuff and went upstairs. When they reached the landing, they heard Hermione's father's voice, yelling from the kitchen:

- Don't take too long, we're eating in about two minutes!

- OK, we're coming! Hermione yelled back.

Then she led them to the guest room at the end of the corridor. It was a small room which contained nothing but a wardrobe, a bed and a mattress that Hermione must have added on the floor.

-I take the bed, said Ron, hurrying inside and throwing his bag on the bed.

- If you say so, said Harry, who went in too and carried his trunk to a corner.

Then, they went back downstairs. As they passed in the corridor, they saw a bigger room that was without doubt Hermione's bedroom. Ron tried to get a glimpse by the half-opened door, but Hermione closed it quickly.

-Anyways, there's nothing to see, she said. What would be the point, decorating when we're spending almost the whole year at Hogwarts?

Then they went to eat. The dinner was delicious. It seemed as though Hermione's parents had spent all the previous day cooking in order to welcome them in their house. They ate until they couldn't swallow anything more.

- Enjoy it, said Hermione. Tomorrow my parents are working and we'll have to make food by ourselves…

-What, you don't know how to cook? Ron asked, rather surprised that there was something Hermione couldn't do.

-Err…well, I guess we can't be good at everything.

- That's true, said her mother. Last time she tried to cook, she confounded flour and oatmeal. She was lucky though. I managed to save it and make a good cake…

Hermione had an embarrassed look on her face.

- Well, she said. I'm going to take a shower. Harry, Ron, you can just go in the living room meanwhile. I'll turn on the TV.

Ron seemed quite interested. He had never seen a television before, but there was no doubt he'd heard about it from his dad, who was fascinated by muggles and their inventions.

Hermione led them to the living room, a large and sober room, and, whereas they were settling down on the sofa, she turned on the screen, and changed the channel.

-There you go. You don't have to touch anything. And anyways, I suppose you know how it works, Harry?

He shook his head and Hermione left the room. Then, his attention went back on the TV.

Ron was already fixing it with an interested look. Harry, however, found it more entertaining to watch Ron's face. Ron remained entirely concentrated (something that was not usual for him) for several more minute, or until the end of the advertising break because then a presenter announces, with a voice similar to professor Binns', the beginning of a documentary on grasshoppers. Ron instantly turned towards Harry.

-What's that? he asked with a disgusted look.

-Discovery channel, Harry answered, looking at the logo at the bottom of the screen.

- Oh…so that's it, telesion? I thought it would be more entertaining…Dean told me you could watch sports…

- Television, Harry corrected. And it depends on the channel.

Ron raised an eyebrow, meaning that he hadn't understood a single word.

-Never mind…If I can get the remote control, I'll try to find the sports channel.

He got up and looked around him. Soon, he spotted the remote control on top of a shelf. He grabbed it and started zapping.

- How many are there? Ron asked.

-No idea, Harry answered. Actually, I think I can count on top of my fingers the number of times I've watched TV in my life.

-Wait! Ron yelled suddenly.

- What?

- Go back to the one right before…no, the other one…this one!

-Cartoons….ok….

Ron seemed to regain all his enthusiasm.

-Oh yeah…that's better! He said.

Then they went back silent, only laughing several times, while they listened with interest to the underwater adventures of…

-Spongebob Squarepants? Said Hermione, entering the room with a towel wrapped around her head.

- Yeah…what's the matter? You didn't think we were going to watch your stupid program on grasshoppers? Said Ron.

Hermione sighed exasperatedly.

- You could have made an effort and try to learn some things for once, instead of losing your time listening useless idiocies

-Idiocies? Excuse me…And could you tell me something? Why are you always criticizing me? It's Harry who changed the channel, but you're not saying anything to _him!_

- All right then…Harry, you should stop being influenced by Ron's ideas. It leads you to intellectual laziness.

Ron's face became red.

- Can you tell me, he said slowly, what's you find so amusing in insulting me all the time?

Hermione seemed about to say something harsh, but she decided not to.

-Sorry, she said.

She too was red in the face. Harry was starting to get tired of this. He was very much tempted to point out how immature their behaviour was, but provoking a conflict was the last thing he wanted to do, so he chose instead to change the topic.

-So, he said, what do we do?

-Huh…we could go and take a walk, Ron suggested.

- I'm not sure It's a good idea, said Hermione.

- Why? Harry asked, though he could guess what she was going to say.

- You know, with V-Voldemort and the Death Eaters who could be anywhere…And you must have heard about the attack on Harwright…it's not so far from here, and we're in wizardless area…I don't think Dumbledore'd agree that we take a walk at night like this when we're unprotected…

- Ok, fine, Harry interrupted.

- Oh, I'm sorry Harry, but you know, it was me who asked if you could come here, and I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to you or Ron. And, to be honest, I really don't want to come face to face with the Death Eaters again since the Department of mysteries.

-Fine, Harry repeated, we'll stay here.

He didn't want to be reminded of what had happened in the department of mysteries. Not now, when for the first time since he was thinking about something else. Suddenly, the feeling of joy he'd had since he left the Dursleys in the morning evaporated completely. The feeling of guilt, however, returned with strength. Harry wasn't only feeling guilty about what had happened to Sirius, he was also feeling guilty that he had risked his best friend's lives.

- Listen, he said, I'm tired. Does it bother you if I go to bed?

- No, go on, said Ron. I'm going to take a shower and then I'll do the same.

- Ok, so…see you tomorrow, said Harry, getting to his feet.

Hermione was watching him with a worried look. Apparently, she realized the impact her words had.

- Are you sure you're ok, Harry? She asked

- Yeah…. I'm tired.

He went up to his room, closed the door and threw himself onto the mattress on the floor without bothering to change into pyjamas. I didn't really know why he wanted to be alone so much. After all, it was the best way to make sure if would continue thinking about the department of mysteries for the whole night. What he knew, however, was that he couldn't bear the idea of seeing Ron and Hermione worrying about him when, because of him, they had almost died.

Suddenly, there were knocks on the door. Assuming it was Ron coming to sleep, Harry turned around and pretended to be asleep. Seconds later, he heard the door opening.

- Can I come in?

It was Hermione's voice. Harry remained still.

- Harry, I know you're not asleep. Please answer me.

Harry sat up and turned towards Hermione. She was observing him with a concerned look. He managed to smile weakly.

- Come in, he said.

She went in and sat down next to him.

- Harry, I'm sorry, she said. I shouldn't have said that. I now how hard it must be for you to be reminded of what happened.

He didn't answer. Hermione had a gift for understanding exactly how people were feeling.

- I know you must feel guilty, she went on. But it wasn't your fault, Harry. You couldn't have known. And you didn't force us to come with you, Ron, me, and the others. We all went there by our own will knowing what was waiting for us. And if something like this had to happen again, I wouldn't hesitate a second to follow you, even though I may be killed.

Harry turned away. Hermione seemed about to cry and Harry knew he would do the same if he remained watching her in the eyes.

- And Sirius too came by his own will. He wouldn't have been able to stay there waiting when others went to fight. You must not feel guilty for his d…

-Look, Hermione, I really don't want to talk about this right now, Harry interrupted.

- Well I think you should. If you don't, in a way or another it's going to explode someday. You must have realized that by now.

Harry remained silent. He was fiddling with his T-shirt's sleeve.

- There are so many things I could have done…, he said finally. To prevent all this. Everybody tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I never practiced Occlumency, I didn't make the slightest effort to prevent the dreams. I _wanted _to have them, Hermione. I didn't think for a single second about why everyone kept telling me it was important that I learn to close my mind. And then, just before we went to the department of mysteries, you tried to warn me too, but I didn't listen to you either. I was so convinced that I was right…And I totally flunked.

He sensed a tear coming down his cheek. He looked at Hermione and saw that she was crying. She wiped her tears.

- You didn't flunk everything, she said. They didn't get the prophecy and that's what they wanted, right?

The prophecy…the second thing Harry didn't want to think about. Hermione didn't know what it said and Harry wasn't sure he was ready to tell her. He was still finding it hard to accept himself…

- I wonder what it said, Hermione said as though she'd read in his mind. But I guess we'll never know.

- I…Harry began.

He hesitated. He would have no choice to tell his friends about the prophecy someday, so maybe he'd better do it now…And, after she'd faces the Death Eaters with him in the department of mysteries, she had the right to know…

- What? She asked.

But at that precise moment, Ron entered the room.

- Hello, he said, what're you doing?

-Talking, Hermione answered, wiping the tears with her hand once more. But I think I'll go to bed now. Night, Harry. You too, Ron.

She left the room. Ron sank on the bed whereas Harry was lying down again onto the mattress.

- Sure you're ok, Harry? Ron asked.

- Yeah…

- Ok…so…good night.

- Night…

Ron was already snoring. Harry remained awake for a long time he finally managed to fall asleep. Even though his discussion with Hermione had not eased his feeling of guilt, it had done him some good to know that wasn't mad at him and she had also made him realise that his friends were still there for him. He had another dreamless night.

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Harry woke up late the next day. Still half asleep, he took a look at his watch and realized it was almost 10:00. Then, getting up, he noticed that Ron wasn't in the room. His pyjama was on the bed along with half the stuff in his bag, which he probably had to empty in order to find his muggle clothes. Harry assumed Ron must have gone downstairs to have breakfast. He decided to go and take a shower before he went downstairs too. He grabbed his stuff in his trunk and went to the bathroom. On the way, he saw that Hermione's bedroom door was opened. She must have gotten up a long time ago too. When he reached the end of the passageway, he indeed heard Ron's and Hermione's voices coming from the kitchen. It seemed as though Hermione was explaining to Ron how to use the dishwasher.

Harry took his shower quickly. He suspected that his friends must be wondering if he intended to come down at all and he didn't want them to worry for too long. He felt a lot better than the previous night since he'd after a good sleep and he had unconsciously taken the resolution to have a good time with his friends instead of making them suffer his bad mood.

Fifteen minutes later, he was joining them in the kitchen. Ron and Hermione smiled when they saw him.

-Harry! Good to see you! I thought you wouldn't get up until the evening…said Ron.

-Are you ok, Harry? Hermione asked.

- Yeah, he assured her. So…I guess you two've already had breakfast.

- Yes, but there are some toasts left, said Ron, handing him a plate.

Oh, thanks, said Harry, taking it.

When he was done eating, the three of them went to sit down in the living room. They remained there talking for the rest of the morning. Harry told them all about the journalists. He had only mentioned it the letter he had sent and now his friends were eager to know more. While Ron was saying loudly all the insults he knew (some of which Harry had never heard) about the journalists, Hermione was questioning Harry in order to know all the details.

- Ok, so you haven't done any magic? She asked. Because remember what happened last year. And this time it could really be a disaster if…

- I've told you three times, I haven't done magic! Harry interrupted. I took out my wand, but I didn't do any spell and I never intended to. It was only to scare them. And anyways, the ministry isn't supposed to have anything against me in theory.

- Maybe, but Fudge is still minister for magic, and after last month's humiliation, I bet he hasn't forgiven you.

Then the discussion went on the topic of Fudge and the ministry. At some point, Ron got up to go to the toilet. As soon as he left the room, Hermione turned towards Harry.

- Harry? You know, the thing you were about to tell me yesterday when our discussion was interrupted…

It was true. He had almost told her about the prophecy. But now that he was in a good mood again, now that he was having a good time, he didn't want to confide this to Hermione anymore. He knew this would spoil their summer holidays and he himself wanted to bury the prophecy into the deepest of his head and to not think about it again until he was forced to.

- Drop it, he said to Hermione. It was nothing important.

- But…she began, but she chose not to insist.

Then, when Ron got back, she looked at the clock and noticed it was already two in the afternoon.

-Are you hungry? She asked.

- Well know that you ask…yes, said Ron. So, what are we eating?

- No idea, Hermione answered. But I warn you, it's not going to be something very complicated. Maybe sandwiches…

- Too bad we can't use magic, said Ron. You just have to cast a few simple spells – simple for you anyway – and you get all-prepared food.

- All-prepared food…Hold on! I've got an idea! Hermione exclaimed

- What? You're not intending to do magic are you? Because if that's the case, you said it yourself, we're gonna be in a lot of trouble…

- No, I'm not going to do magic. Muggles have another way of getting all-made food…

- You mean ordering it? Harry asked.

- Yeah…I've got the pizzeria number on the fridge…we could order a pizza…

- Good idea, Harry approved.

- What's a pizza? Ron asked.

While Harry was doing his best explaining him, Hermione went in the kitchen to get the paper on which the phone number was written.

- So, we have to order a pizza with the feletone?

- Telephone Ron, Hermione corrected, and we have to call at the pizzeria first. Then a guy's gonna come and deliver it here.

- Ok. So can I call? Ron asked, looking interested.

- Huh…I doubt it's a good idea…

- Come on, Hermione, I learned the lesson last time. I know how to use it now.

- Huh…ok…if you say so…so you just dial the number and when somebody answers you speak without yelling and you ask for a large all-dressed pizza. Right?

Ron grabbed the paper, the phone, and dialled the number.

- …Hello?

Harry and Hermione sighted in relief when they heard him speak on a normal tone.

- Huh…yes…I'd like to order a large all-dressed pizza…………………………..No, I don't want gherkins…………………………no, I don't want onions either……………………yeah ok………………………… yeah, I want it delivered………………………..Address? Huh……..

- 26, Oak Street, Hermione whispered.

- Huh……………26 Oak Street, Ron repeated in the receiver……………………………Credit card????? What's that???

- Tell him we're paying cash!

- We're paying cash!………………..ok….huh………….twenty-two and fifty?

He turned towards Harry and Hermione.

- How much does that make in wizard money?

- Ron, quiet! Hermione whispered.

- What?………………………No, forget what I just said ok?…………………….no, never mind!………………………………damn!

- What? Harry and Hermione exclaimed at the same time.

- I think I pressed a button and now there's a strange noise……listen…..

Hermione took the receiver.

- Ron! You cut off the line!

- What? Oh! Sorry!

- I don't think they're gonna deliver the pizza, Harry pointed out.

- So what do we do? Call back? Ron asked.

- No! Hermione exclaimed. We already look like idiots, we're not gonna call a second time.

- So what do we do? Harry asked. I suppose we can call somewhere else…

-Yeah but I don't have any other number, said Hermione, and I've got no idea where my parents put the phone book.

- Great…so we go for the sandwiches?

- I guess…

- Unless…Hermione, there wouldn't be any restaurants around here?

- Yean, a few streets away, but as I said yesterday, I think we'd better stay here.

- Come on, Hermione! Said Ron. It's daytime, there's gonna be a bunch of people and apart from the order member, nobody knows we're here. Plus I don't want to eat sandwiches, so for once stop being paranoid. We're not going to be in danger if we go out to eat at a muggle restaurant.

Hermione frowned, but didn't answer.

- Please, Hermione, said Harry. When I was at Privet Drive, I often went out and took walks and nothing ever happened.

- Oh, alright, she finally said. But we're putting our wands in our pockets just in case.

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20 minutes later, they were entering a fast-food type restaurant. They bought some food (Harry ordered for Ron) and they went to sit at a table at the back.

- It's bizarre, all the things the muggles eat, Ron commented, swallowing a handful of French fries. But it's good.

- Yeah, as long as you don't eat it too often, said Hermione. My parents wouldn't like to hear we've gone to a fast-food.

Hermione's parents were indeed dentists and Harry had already noticed that their fridge was full of nutritive food instead of all the chips, cakes and chocolate that were filling the Dursley's fridge since Dudley had stopped his diet.

While they were eating, Harry noticed the man sitting at the table next to them. He was almost positive that he'd been staring at them a few seconds before. In any case, he had turned away very quickly when Harry had looked at him. After a minute, he risked another look and then it was Harry who turned away almost at once.

- Look at the man next to us, he whispered to Ron and Hermione. I'm sure I've seen him in the street just after we got out of the house.

- You think he's been following us? Hermione asked on an alarmed tone.

- I don't know, but I think we'd better not hang out here for too long, and we should make sure he doesn't follow us on the way back to your house.

Hermione opened her mouth. Harry had the impression she was about to say something like "I told you we should've stayed inside", but Ron spoke first.

Calm down, he said. It's possible that he simply decided to go to the restaurant at the same time as us. And if he's actually following us, we've got our wands. Don't tell me we can't defend ourselves at three against one.

Hermione didn't look the slightest bit reassured. Harry, him, had a strange feeling. He had glimpsed the man in Oak Street, but he was almost certain he had already seen him before. The man's face was vaguely familiar, even though he couldn't tell who it was. What made him worry, however, was that he didn't know a lot of muggles. So it was safe assume that this man was a wizard. But what would a wizard be doing here? Apart from spying on them…However, he chose not to make Ron and Hermione worry too much, so he decided to wait until they were back in the house to tell them this.

- Ok, I'm done eating, said Ron. What do I do with this? He asked, pointing at his cabaret in which he had put all his wastes.

- There's a bin over there, said Hermione.

- Ok…so we throw our stuff out and then we leave at a run? Ron asked.

- No, that'd look suspect, Hermione whispered. Ron, you're gonna go with our three cabarets and throw the wastes out…Meanwhile, Harry and I are gonna stay here. Then, you're gonna come back and tell us you've seen my parents car outside, loud enough for him to hear. Then we're gonna leave and turn around the corner so that he doesn't see us leave on foot.

- Ok, said Ron. But I just remind you that this guy's probably one of your neighbours who's had the same idea as us.

He went away with the cabarets nevertheless. Harry took another furtive glance towards the man. He had already seen him, he was sure of it, but where? In what circumstances?

He was drawn back to reality by the voice of an employee, which was resonating in the whole place.

- Hey, young man! You don't throw the cabarets in the garbage!

Harry and Hermione turned around at the same time. They saw the employee coming to a halt in front of Ron and the bin.

- Oh…. sorry! He said, his face becoming red.

-_Sorry? _You think they just fall from the sky, those cabarets? Well they don't, we have to pay them you know!

- I'm sorry! Ron repeated. I'm gonna get them back.

And with a disgusted look, he put his hand in the garbage in order to get the cabarets out. Then, he walked towards the boys washrooms, his sleeve dripping with the liquids that were in the bin.

-Oh no! said Hermione, turning back towards Harry. We must not hang out here…I have a bad feeling.

- Me too, said Harry. We'd better go get Ron and leave now.

They stood up at the same time. Harry couldn't help noticing that the man was still staring at them. He forced himself to remain calm and walked towards the washrooms.

When he entered, he saw Ron who was attempting to clean his sleeve.

- Forget it, he said. I prefer we get out of here as quickly as possible.

- What? What's the matter?

- I'll tell you when we arrive.

Ron followed him outside, where Hermione was waiting for them. The man was still sitting at the table. They got out of the restaurant as discreetly as possible. Once outside, they looked through the window.

- Look, he's getting up! Ron exclaimed.

Indeed, the man was now walking towards the exit.

That way, quick, said Hermione.

They ran through the parking and then turned right on a small street.

- We're going to cut by the neighbour's backyards, said Hermione. Hurry up, before he spots us!

She made them turn in an alley. They crossed the backyard and found themselves in a small wood.

- My house is right on the other side, said Hermione taking back her breath. If we managed to turn in the alley without being seen, then we should get back safe.

- Let's hope so, said Harry.

They started running again, zigzagging through the trees. Five minutes later, they were entering the house and locking the door.

- D'you reckon he saw us? Harry asked.

- No, I don't think so, said Hermione. But there's no doubt he was following us and I have the impression that he was already spying on us before we left the house.

- And who the hell was he? Ron asked. Why would this guy spy on us?

- Listen, said Harry, I don't know who he is, but I've already seen him somewhere before. I'm almost positive he's a wizard.

-What? Ron exclaimed.

- Are you sure, Harry?

- Yeah, I couldn't be surer. But as I just said, I haven't got a clue who he is.

- We've got to tell the Order, said Ron.

- Oh yeah, and why? Harry asked. If there are wizards spying on us, then we've got no chance of sending an owl without it being intercepted.

- It's still worth trying, Ron insisted.

- No, Harry's right, said Hermione. There's no reason why the Death Eaters would know we're here. Maybe they do, but if that isn't the case, then by sending a letter, we take the risk that they intercept it and get some information from it. I'm quite certain this man is a wizard and I find it suspect too, but as long as we haven't got any proof, we'd better not try to communicate with the Order unless something happen again.

-So we're just gonna stay here as though nothing happened? Ron asked unbelievingly.

- Yes, Hermione answered. But there's no way we're going to go house of this house again.

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That's it. I know it was long…according to my original plan, it was supposed to be a lot shorter, but I had some ideas while I was writing, so here's the result. I hope you liked it even though it's quite different from the first chapter. If you didn't like it, please don't give up now: the next ones are gonna be totally different. Some will be a lot darker, I warn you. But we thought it might be good to put a bit of humour to lighten the story a bit. Anyways, I promise a lot more action in the next chapter. But before, don't forget to review!


	3. Change of plan

Here is the third chapter! I really hope that we're gonna receive more reviews for this chapter because we need to know if there's actually someone reading this fic. As we've said before, we're two writing this fic. For example, I wrote the first chapter and now, I'm writing this one but it was my sister who wrote the second chapter. I may not be very important but it's always good to know who's writing because there will certainly be some differences.

By the way, I must tell you now that there are gonna be a lot of people dying in this fic because it's necessary for the story to show that it's a war going on. However, I assure you that we're not gonna kill Harry, Ron or Hermione.

OK, I won't make you wait any longer… so now: the chapter. By the way, all the characters, places, etc. belong to JK Rowling and it seems that I'm not JK Rowling (I guess you all knew that lol)

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**Chapter 3: Change of plan**

Since the restaurant episode, Harry, Ron and Hermione hadn't set foot outside the house and the past two weeks had passed without anything important happening and they were not complaining about that. Ron didn't have to go very far to discover all kinds of things he didn't know and almost everything fascinated him, even things as simple as starting the washing machine. As for Harry, leaving the Dursleys after only one week made him really happy and he enjoyed having real vacations for a change. And Hermione didn't see any interest in going out because, for her, the restaurant or the cinema weren't really fascinating anymore.

They had found a lot of ways to occupy their days while staying in the house and Harry was having the best summer vacations he had had for many years. He had almost managed not to think of Sirius and the prophecy and he hadn't had any new nightmares since his arrival. It was probably due to the fact that he was carefully avoiding the subject and that he was trying to ignore everything that could remind him of the events of June.

The only thing that could spoil his enthusiasm was the wizard who had followed them when they had gone to the restaurant. Harry was sure he had seen him before but he couldn't recall who it was exactly. Was it someone from the ministry or the Order keeping watch on them? Or a Death Eater maybe?

_He couldn't be a Death Eater, _Harry thought for the hundredth time, in hope to convince himself. _They don't know we're here. Only Dumbledore and the Order know._

Nothing suspicious had happened since that day, but Harry didn't feel reassured knowing that there were wizards prowling around the house when Hermione lived in a totally muggle-filled area in a small suburb. Moreover, Harry couldn't help thinking that if it was a wizard from the Order who had followed them, he'd have contacted them instead of spying on them.

It wasn't really important anyway. Two weeks had passed since that thing had happened and whoever it had been, he had obviously no intention to try anything or he'd have done it already.

"Harry, could you pass me the butter please?" asked Ron, bringing Harry back to reality.

They were eating their breakfast. Hermione's parents weren't up yet so they had simply made some toasts.

"What? Oh… er… yeah."

He gave him the butter and tried to start a conversation. However, he didn't have to do it. It was Hermione who broke the silence.

"It's been a long time since we've last heard of Voldemort, don't you think?"

"What?"

"It worries me a bit… I mean… We don't know when something's gonna happen."

"It's true" Harry said "But at least, during that time, no one gets killed. It's worrying when we don't know anything but it's even worse to know that there are hundreds of people killed every week and that there is nothing you can do about that."

"I wonder what the Order's doing." Hermione continued. "Do they know what he's up to?"

"Maybe…"

"Do you think they're still as busy as they were?"

"This, Harry, is a subtle way to ask if I can go home now" said Ron on a sarcastic tone. "She's obviously trying to get rid of me…"

"I'm serious, Ron! I was only wondering what was going on. We never know when there's gonna be another attack."

"In fact" he said "I have no idea. No one bothers telling me what's going on in the Order. They say I'm too young… Maybe I could ask Fred and George… I'm sure they'd understand after having tried to get informations from Mum and Dad for the whole past year."

"What do Fred and George have to do with that?" asked Harry.

"Haven't I told you? They joined the Order at the beginning of the summer. They're of age and they left school so Mum and Dad couldn't say no."

"But… they have their joke shop to take care of." Hermione said "They have time for that?"

"Well… I did wonder how they do it too but I thin that, in fact, they couldn't say no when they had a chance to join the Order. They had waited for that for too long to refuse."

"But why haven't you told us before?"

"I didn't think it was important. And… I had forgotten. If you really want to know, Percy joined the Order too…"

"Percy!" interrupted Harry and Hermione at the same time.

"Er… yeah… Now that the ministry is on our side, he automatically made up with my parents and he offered his help. Anyway, what does that change? I don't give a damn about what's going on with Percy! Honestly, he'll always stay a moron for me…"

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed "He's your brother! You should be happy that he and your parents made up. And…"

She didn't have the time to finish her sentence because the owl that brought her the Prophet everyday rushed into the room at that exact moment. She unfolded the newspaper it had put in front of her and looked at the first page.

"There was a new attack!" she exclaimed.

"What? Where?"

"I don't know yet… Wait a minute…"

She glanced through the article.

"It's not far from here!" she said on a worried tone.

"Maybe they're trying to find us…" added Ron, who did not look so reassured either.

"They don't know we're here" Harry reasoned. "And if it were us they were looking for, they'd have come straight away, don't you think? But still… It's not a good sign…"

"Should we warn Dumbledore" asked Hermione.

"No, he probably knows already." Said Ron "We should try not to be noticed by sending owls, you said that yourself."

"You're right." Added Harry "We'd better stay as discreet as we can."

At that moment, a big noise resounded in the hall. Harry, Ron and Hermione jumped.

"What was that? Who did that? As long as it's not…"

"Shh, Ron!" interrupted Hermione. "We'll go there quietly and see what it was. And it was… well, you know who I mean… we'll run and go out by the back door."

Then, seeing Ron's expression, she added:

"Anyway, it's probably nothing. All we have to do is to be quiet…"

At that moment, they heard some voices.

"HARRY! RON! HERMIONE! ARE YOU THERE?"

They all stood up at once and rushed towards the hall. Harry suddenly felt reassured. I knew that voice very well and it certainly wasn't a Death Eater. Moreover, he had only just recognized the noise they had heard. It was the sound of someone apparating… A lot of people apparating in fact.

It seemed that about fifteen people had just apparated in the house. They were all members of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry knew most of them though there were some he had never seen.

He recognized Lupin, Moody, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mundungus Fletcher, Fred, George and Percy Weasley and two or three others he was certain he had seen before but couldn't remember their name.

"HARRY! RON! HERM-…"

"Shh, not that loud, my parents are still asleep" interrupted Hermione.

Several wizards turned around and noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were standing right behind them.

"What's going on?" asked Ron, a bit worried.

"You read the Prophet?" asked Kingsley, even though it wasn't really a question. We can't let you here. It's too dangerous."

"Where are we going then?" asked Harry.

"Grimmauld Place" Percy answered. "It's probably the safest place."

"When? How?"

"Right now. Pack your things, we're leaving as soon as possible. We'll make a Portkey and you'll leave as soon as you're ready."

"Alright" said Harry.

He started climbing the stairs. So did Ron and Hermione, still obviously surprised to see their vacation projects change so radically.

"I'll come with you!" Tonks called. "It will be over in a few seconds."

At that moment, they heard a sound outside the house. It was as if someone had slipped into the plants in front of the house. It might have been a cat or something like that but Harry didn't feel so reassured, in view of the circumstances. By looking around him, he saw that he wasn't the only one who looked worried.

"Move away from the door!" Moody shouted. "It could be dangerous… Someone has to go and see what's going on."

"It's probably nothing" said a witch Harry didn't know. "We were leaving anyway so why should we worry about things like that?"

"No way! We're not leaving this house until we know what it was outside! What if they were spying on us?"

"Not to mention that my parents are still in the house" added Hermione, who had gone back downstairs at once when she had heard that sound.

"Then" said someone else. "Why don't we all go out at the same time? It'd be safer…"

"What if we all died?" asked Moody on a threatening tone. "Who'd make sure Harry, Ron and Hermione arrive safely at Grimmauld Place?"

"I'll go and see" Percy declared, thrusting out his chest in a ridiculous way.

"Alright" Moody said. "You, go upstairs and pack your things during that time. There's no time to waste."

Tonks rushed upstairs to pack Harry and Ron's things. Hermione climbed the stairs too to inform her parents that they were leaving and to tell them what was going on. As for Harry, he couldn't help staying to look apprehensively when Percy stepped outside.

When he was outside, he took his wand and pronounced an incantation, pointing his wand at the plants the sound had come from. Harry didn't hear what he said but, judging from the red light that came out the wand, he had probably tried to stun whatever was in the plants.

He bent down and searched the shrubs to see if his stunning spell had reached something. Apparently, it had reached something. He pulled something and they saw it. It was a human being, a wizard obviously, _wearing a hood. _It was a Death Eater. Death Eaters… There were probably others. How long had they been there, in front of the house, spying on them?

Kinsley opened the door and told Percy to come back in quickly, what he obviously intended to do anyway, but he didn't have the time to reach the door. A flash of green light came from behind him and reached him in the back. He didn't move for a moment and then, fell on the ground, dead.

Everything had happened so fast. The scene had last about 15 seconds. For a moment, no one dared to move, still in a state of shock. No one realized what had just happened in front of them. Nor did Harry. It was Kingsley who reacted first.

"Death Eaters!" he yelled. "We can't stay here like that, doing nothing. Now that they know we've seen them, they can attack us any moment! We don't have the choice. We have to go outside and fight!"

"We don't even know how many they are" objected Lupin. "It's not safe. We'd better leave now while everyone is still safe."

"SAFE? _SAFE?_" Mundungus shouted. "DID YOU SEE WHAT HAS JUST HAPPENED? HE'S DEAD, LUPIN! DEAD! WE CAN'T STAY HERE DOING NOTHING. WE'RE _NOT _SAFE!

Ron, Tonks, Hermione and her parents ran downstairs, panic-stricken.

"What happened?" asked Ron, panicking. "What's going on? Who's d-…"

"Not enough time!" Moody shouted.

He rushed outside, followed by the other members of the Order.

A few seconds later, Harry followed them. So did Ron and Hermione. They didn't know what to do, but they couldn't stand staying in the house, waiting for a Death Eater to come out from behind a piece of furniture and attack them in the back.

Outside, spells were already coming out from everywhere. The Death Eaters had come out of their hiding places and the battle had begun. Harry saw some of the neighbors coming out of their house to see what was going on. Muggles were screaming with terror, even though they did not understand what was going on.

Suddenly, a flash of red light passed a few centimeters beside Harry.

"STUPEFY!" he yelled while turning around.

He did not have the time to see if his spell had reached its target because another Death Eater came near him and opened his mouth to say a spell.

"EXPERLIARMUS!" yelled Harry at once.

The two spells met and rebounded. Harry had to throw himself on the ground to avoid his own spell. Picking himself up, he saw that the Death Eater, taken by surprise, had been hit by his own spell, which was probably way more powerful than Harry's, and had fallen on the ground, apparently unconscious.

Harry looked quickly around him. Many duels seemed to be going on between Death Eaters and members of the Order, but everyone seemed to be okay. Hermione was standing near the wall and was looking everywhere around her to make sure that no Death Eater was approaching. Ron was trying to help the best he could by throwing spells at all the Death Eaters who were fighting, not noticing him.

Harry saw that Fred had fallen on the ground and that the Death Eater he was fighting was about to jinx him.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" yelled Harry, running towards him.

The spell reached the Death Eater and he froze instantly. Harry was about to stun him but the effect of the spell vanished and he managed to avoid it at the last moment. Then, he turned his attention to Harry.

"EXPERLIARMUS!" the Death Eater yelled when Harry was about to try to stun him again.

This time, Harry wasn't able to dodge the spell and he felt his wand slipping out of his hand and land in the Death Eater's. He was disarmed. He felt a surge of panic taking hold of him. Without his wand, there was nothing he could do.

Fortunately, one of Mundungus's spells missed its target and hit the Death Eater who, taken by surprise, lost Harry's wand. Harry threw himself on the ground to get it back before the Death Eater could do anything. Then, without even taking the time to get up again, he yelled "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!".

The spell hit the Death Eater and he fell on the ground while Harry was picking himself up and looking around him to make sure everyone was okay.

"HARRY! RON!" called Hermione.

Harry ran towards her and he saw that Ron was coming too.

"We should stay together" she whispered. "They're ignoring us."

It was true. The Death Eaters were too busy with the Order and weren't able to get rid of them to attack them. When Moody managed to get rid of his Death Eater by stunning him, he rushed towards them.

"You must leave, quickly" he said, not even taking the time to breathe. "It's too dangerous. We'll see you there. Give me your glasses, Harry."

Harry did what he asked even though he did not understand why Moody needed his glasses. He took the glasses, pointed his wand at them and whispered "portus" to turn them into a Portkey.

Harry, Ron and Hermione took the glasses and a few seconds later, Harry felt that unpleasant sensation that you feel when you use a Portkey. After a few moments, they appeared in front of the number 12, Grimmauld Place. They ran outside, without bothering about not doing too much noise in the hall.

The old portrait of Mrs. Black started yelling at the top of her voice. They didn't pay attention to her and moved into another room. They heard nothing apart from the screams coming from the hall. None of them dared to speak. They could hardly believe what had jus happened. In the end, Hermione spoke.

"Er… Ron?" she asked with an uncertain voice. "Are you okay…?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. We were really lucky not to get kil-…"

"No… About Percy… I… well… I mean… He's your brother…"

"We've never been very close, you know" he said with a voice that was supposed to sound indifferent but Harry saw that he was shaking.

Harry wanted to say something but he was unable to find anything appropriate. They became silent again. They heard nothing else than Mrs. Black's cries, that were not ceasing. Harry hand a headache. Too many things had happened to rapidly. Less than a hour before, he was calmly eating his breakfast at Hermione's home, not suspecting that anything would happen today.

At that moment, Mrs. Weasley burst into the room. She had probably come to see if they had arrived because of the screams that were still resounding in the hall. She ignored the portrait and rushed towards them.

"Oh! Ron! Harry! Hermione! I'm so relieved to see that you're okay! But…"

A worried look appeared on her happy face.

"Where are the others? Why are you the only ones here?"

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. Ron remained silent and Harry noticed that he was still shaking. As for Hermione, looked as if she was about to cry. Harry opened his mouth several times but no sound came out. Then, he ended up answering:

"We… er… we've been attacked."

Harry would have given anything to be somewhere else. He would have given anything not to be the one who had to tell Mrs. Weasley about her son's death, with whom she had only just made up. He could hardly believe it himself. Everything had happened so fast. It couldn't be true…

"Attacked! What? What happened? Is everyone okay? Where are the others?"

"I have no idea. Moody sent us here with a Portkey before the battle was over. They're still there… fighting" Harry said.

It couldn't be true! He was there, at Grimmauld Place, talking to Mrs. Weasley, while the others where still fighting. Harry couldn't believe that, the same morning, he was still at Hermione's home, having fun. He was there, talking, hoping more than anything else that someone else would come so he wouldn't have to tell Molly Weasley that she had just lost one of her sons. He felt that he wasn't the right person to tell her that but there was something else. He was _afraid _to tell her. He had to though. He couldn't keep that from her any longer.

"I…" he stammered. "Er… I need to tell-…"

At that moment, several wizards apparated in the hall. Mrs. Weasley rushed towards them.

"You're back!" she cried with the voice of someone who was about to cry. "What happened? Did you beat them?"

During that time, she was looking from one person to another to make sure they were all there.

"There are two missing!" she exclaimed. "Where are Percy and Mundungus? Did something happen to them?"

She looked hysteric now.

"Molly…" began Lupin. "There's something I need to tell you…"

Harry didn't want to hear him. He did not want to be there. He rushed out of the room. He was soon followed by Tonks.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked.

"What happened after we left?" asked Harry without answering her question.

"The battle went on, that's all. We won in the end but Mundungus…"

"He's dead?" interrupter Harry, who could hardly stand the idea that two people he knew had just died when everyone had made sure _he _was safe at once.

"Yes… He was fighting and… he got killed…"

Suddenly, a cry of despair resounded in the hall.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It-it's imp-possible…"

Harry saw that Mrs. Weasley had thrown herself into George's arms and was crying her eyes out. Ron was also hugging his mother and he was talking to her but Harry couldn't hear what he was saying. It wasn't his business anyway. Fred was standing beside them and he looked as if he was wondering what to do. The others had taken a few steps back and no one dared to do anything. Meanwhile, Hermione joined Harry. She was crying too.

"Harry! I c-can't believe it happened! It's t-terrible! Two people d-died just to save us. I feel s-so b-bad for Ron's f-family. As if it was m-my f-fault."

"Hermione… We didn't do anything… There was no way we could have known it was going to end that way."

He had said that to comfort her but he felt jus as bad as her. He could easily understand how Mrs. Weasley was feeling now and he preferred to stay out of it. He felt that it did not concern him. It was Ron's family, it wasn't his business.

"And t-there's G-ginny too" continued Hermione, sobbing. "She hasn't c-come back yet… She d-doesn't know what happened yet. And Mr. Weasley… He w-working tod-day. He d-doesn't know either."

Harry didn't know what to do. He wanted to comfort her but he had nothing to say. He hadn't assimilated all the events of the morning himself. He had no desire to come back to this house before (it looked empty and dead in the absence of Sirius. And he had the strange feeling that he was somewhere he shouldn't be. As if it was a lack of respect towards Sirius) but he had never thought that it could be even worse. He could hardly believe that a few hours back, he had been so happy.

"We had only j-jus m-made up!" Cried Mrs. Weasley, sobbing heavily. "We l-lost one year without t-talking to each o-other and n-now, we'll n-never be able t-to catch up."

Harry had had enough. It was still the morning and he felt as exhausted as if he hadn't slept in days. He had a headache and he didn't know what to think. He decided to go upstairs and sleep in the bedroom he had used the previous year. He did not fall asleep instantly. There were too many thoughts at the same time in his head. But after some time, this tiredness that had come from nowhere prevailed and he fell asleep.

When he woke up, several hours later, Harry wasn't sure whether he had slept or not. It was like a half-sleep and it was not so relaxing. He decided to stay in bed for some time because he didn't want to go downstairs.

After about fifteen minutes, however, he hears footsteps heading towards his bedroom. A few seconds later, the door opened and Lupin came in.

"Harry?" he said calmly. "Are you awake?"

"Yes" Harry answered.

"Alright. If you want to come, dinner's ready."

Harry stood up and followed Lupin.

"So…" he asked. "How was it this afternoon?"

He wanted to know if everyone was still crying. He always felt bad when people cried in front of him. He always had the impression that he shouldn't be there and he hated standing there, unable to do anything.

"We sent owls to Ginny and Arthur to tell them what happened. Arthur came back about two hours ago. We don't have any news from. She's really far and the owl probably hasn't reached her yet."

"What about Mrs. Weasley?"

"She's still crying but she's a bit calmer. Poor thing… She hated having family members in the Order. She was afraid that something would happen to them. And now it has happened…"

They arrived in the kitchen. Everyone was sitting around the table. Mrs. Weasley was sobbing silently. As for Mr. Weasley, he was staring into space, showing no expression. The others were silent. The ambiance could hardly have been more… silent. Harry took a seat between Hermione and Moody.

Everyone remained quiet for some time. No one wanted to talk about Percy to avoid another crying fit and no one wanted to talk about something less not to lack respect.

"We'll n-need to organize f-funerals" said Mrs. Weasley. "G-great funerals. To show him t-that we l-love him. It's t-the last t-thing we c-can do for him."

"By dying, he saved us all" said Lupin in hope to comfort her a little. "If it hadn't been of him, they would have taken us by surprise and we'd all have died. We heard a sound and it was he who went outside to see what it was. If he hadn't done it, they'd have attacked us and we wouldn't have been prepared. He saved us…"

"T-that's r-right… Don't think t-that I'm n-not happy that you all s-survived. If anything had happened t-to any of y-you… At l-least, you're still alive… He hasn't d-died for n-nothing."

It was the only thing to do: tell her how courageous Percy had been, tell her that his death saved them, that is was really useful. It was the only thing that could help Mrs. Weasley to accept her son's death.

"And" added Moody. "He was the most courageous of us. He was the first to offer to go out. He died honorably.

"Oh and H-harry, you're s-still alive. He had g-gone there to l-lead you to safety and you're h-here… He d-did it… You're alive, it's important."

Harry wanted to scream "Why me?" but he knew the answer. He was the only one who could ever beat Voldemort. That was why everyone wanted to save him. So, instead of screaming, he simply said:

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley. But without him, none of us would be here now."

Mrs. Weasley wiped away her tears and raised her head. She half-smiled. She had stopped crying.

"It's true" she added with a still trembling voice. "But you did it too. You fought bravely and you managed to repel them."

"We didn't do that much" Ron mumbled.

"But how did they learn that we were there?" asked Hermione suddenly. "No one was supposed to know… except the Order."

"No one knows" Lupin answered. "But we have very useful spies to know what Voldemort is up to. But nothing made us think… I don't know…"

"In fact" Tonks explained. "We don't really know what he's up to. He only tells his closest Death Eaters about his most important plans and it's rare that we can reach one of those informations."

"We must say that we've been a bit negligent" added Mr. Weasley, speaking for the first time. "We were concentration on where he was going to attack next. A big attack, I mean. It's our fault. Maybe we've not paid enough attention to the details that could have told us what he was going to do."

"It's no one's fault" said Hermione. "Lupin said it: nothing made you think that he was going to do that."

"But these spies you have" said Harry to change the subject. "Are they directly among Voldemort's Death Eaters?"

"Not all of them" Moody answered. "Very few of them in fact. It'd be too dangerous. If he learned it… They're outside but I assure you that they're very well positioned to discover some information."

"Alright. And are they-…"

"I'm sorry" said Kingsley. "But it's not your business. We agreed not to tell anyone about the Order's activities and it includes you… I'm sorry…"

"But…"

"No argument!" said Fred on a very good imitation of his mother's tone. "We can't tell you anything."

He had said that on a categoric tone but when he finished his sentence, he turned towards Harry and winked discreetly. He stopped arguing and let the conversation change slowly. No one else talked about Percy for the whole evening and Mrs. Weasley wasn't crying anymore, even though her face was still red.

Then, when everyone had finished eating, almost all of them went to bed. Harry decided to follow them. He put his suitcase under his bed and slipped into bed. He fell asleep almost at once, exhausted by a day in which too many things had happened too fast.

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Ok, I know it's been a long time since we posted the last chapter but I was really busy and not so motivated (probably because of the lack of reviews). I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous one but it's still about 5,000 words so I stopped there. It's about the length of a normal HP chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and tell us what you think! 


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